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A journalist is suing Attorney General Marty Jackley for records into the death of former cabinet secretary Richard Benda.

Benda was on the verge of being indicted on felony theft charges at the time of his October 2013 death. The local coroner and Jackley's office concluded Benda killed himself by securing a shotgun against a tree and using a stick to push the trigger. The blast struck his abdomen and was fatal, according to Benda's death certificate, which was prepared by Charles Mix County deputy coroner Chad Peters.

Benda was secretary of the Department of Tourism and State Development for nearly four years, during which time he championed the federal EB-5 visa program as a way to get money for South Dakota projects. At the time of his death, Jackley was preparing to charge Benda with theft for allegedly diverting a $550,000 state grant to pay his own salary.

Reporter Bob Mercer, who writes for the Aberdeen American News and a number of other South Dakota daily newspapers, asked Jackley to release more information into Benda's death because of the intense public interest in the case. Jackley agreed, but only under certain conditions -- chiefly that Benda's family had to consent, because their privacy is at stake.

When Benda's ex-wife denied that permission, Mercer appealed Jackley's ruling to an administrative law judge, who ruled in Jackley's favor. Mercer then appealed again to circuit court.

"Confidentiality of death records isn't absolute, and their disclosure is subject to the discretion of the custodian of the records," Mercer writes in his lawsuit. "The attorney general appropriated to himself authority to create and enforce special criteria for release of the records."

South Dakota's open records law lists "records developed or received by law enforcement agencies" as part of investigations as one of 27 exceptions to required disclosure.

"I would have been operating within my statutory authority to just flat-out deny access, and I did not do that," Jackley said. "I chose the route of openness and have been nothing but criticized for that."

Jackley's report appears to be the only potential source of more detailed information about Benda's death. Peters, reached by phone Thursday morning, said he's "really not at liberty myself to discuss" the findings until Jackley releases more information. Jackley said Peters wouldn't be legally allowed to do so.

Mercer is representing himself in the lawsuit. He said that's a deliberate decision intended in part to "make a point about the cost for a citizen seeking a public document." The attorney general's office urged Judge Kathleen Trandahl not to give Mercer any leniency because of his lack of legal expertise.

Another argument Mercer raised in his request is public skepticism that Benda committed suicide. Releasing the documents, Mercer said, could quell people suggesting Benda was actually murdered.

The highest-profile skeptic of the suicide ruling is Mike Myers, the independent candidate for governor. At a gubernatorial debate Wednesday in Mitchell and again at a news conference Thursday in Rapid City, Myers used a shotgun and a measuring tape to question whether Benda really shot himself with a shotgun.

"There's been widespread skepticism by the public at large with regard to the credibility of a man committing suicide by shooting himself in the belly with a shotgun," Myers said Thursday.

Myers said he doesn't "want to leave Benda out there with a legacy of suicide" and suggested "homicide" as an alternate theory.

But Myers acknowledged his comments are "an undocumented, unsupported assertion."

One piece of evidence Myers previously cited may not exist. On Wednesday, Myers told the debate audience he's "got an FBI report that concluded that the muzzle of that shotgun was more than 18 inches from (Benda) when it fired." But on Thursday, Myers said he didn't have that FBI report. Rather, he said he had been told about the report by former lawmaker Eldon Nygaard. Nygaard, who was friends with Benda, said Thursday he hasn't seen any such FBI report and isn't "even aware they had a report."

Federal authorities haven't confirmed or denied the existence of any report, though Jackley has said the FBI and Department of Justice were both involved in the investigation of Benda's death.

"Eight entities with authority were either involved or either have the authority to address inadequacies or inappropriate action by authorities," Jackley said. "For there to be an alleged coverup, 8 of these entities would either have to be involved in it, or be ignoring it."

U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson said Thursday that, though he's not suggesting any information is incorrect, federal agencies wouldn't necessarily correct any such misinformation.

"If another law enforcement agency were putting out information that were incorrect about the nature of a federal investigation, would we correct it?" Johnson said. "Likely no, we would not."

Myers said his skepticism and speculation "can be rebutted by simply going to a report."

"Why should that be kept away from the public?" he said.

Both Mercer and Jackley's office have filed briefs in his lawsuit. Mercer has waived his rebuttal, leaving Trandahl's decision the next step remaining.